Fiber Optic Internet On Cattaraugus Territory Will Close The Digital Divide with High Speed Internet
As most people know by now, the Seneca Nation is in the process of installing high-speed, fiber optic internet on the Cattaraugus Territory. Reliable access to the internet has been a dream of many Cattaraugus Territory residents for a long time. There has been a disparity of reliable broadband coverage on Territory, which has left residents and businesses in a digital darkness that has hindered education, medical care as well as other basic functions that can easily be completed online.
However, the Seneca Nation is closing the digital divide on the Cattaraugus Territory! From inception to implementation it has been a process that’s taken many years to complete. In 2019, we received a USDA grant and started our engineering and design of the network. Construction began in 2021.
Today, the mainline network has been constructed and we have live customers streaming the internet on the Cattaraugus Territory! This is historic as this is the first time that high-speed internet and digital phone services have been available to Cattaraugus residents.
The service installation process is a three-to-four step process that can take a few weeks and multiple crews to complete. We have an underground contractor, aerial crew, splicing/testing crew and then DFT schedules the inside portion of the installation.
Early on we began to sign people up for service. This was necessary to approximate the scope of the network and provide a list to the contractor. Many have service requests that were registered before the network was under construction. Presently, we have approximately 450 registered requests for service with more coming in daily. We have approximately 200 installations complete to date, meaning these individuals are receiving internet services. That leaves us with at least 250 more installs to complete. It will take a few more months to get everyone connected to the network.
In our continuing efforts to complete the network in timely manner we ask your patience as we make final customer connections. All crews are working as effectively and quickly as possible. You don’t have to be home for the outside portion of the installation and DFT will call you directly to schedule a convenient time for the inside installation once your service is ready.
